Four days after his team's season ended in Super Bowl frustration - and he demonstratively ranted on the sideline - 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh found peace and refuge on the Monterey Peninsula.

He signed autographs. He amiably chatted with spectators. He wandered over and picked up his young daughter.

And he even smacked several tee shots right down the middle.

Harbaugh arrived at the practice range Thursday morning ... well, needing to practice. He hadn't swung a golf club in nearly a full year, since last year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Then he went out and helped his professional partner, Jason Day, post a team score of 9-under-par. That planted Harbaugh and Day in the thick of early contention, tied for third among the 156 pro-am tandems in the tournament.

Harbaugh seemed uncommonly relaxed during his round, not at all like the high-strung football coach 49ers fans have come to know. Asked if he was competitive on the course, Harbaugh replied, "No, I'm not good enough to get upset about it."

It sure looked that way, but how could he set aside his famously competitive nature, honed during his days as a quarterback and sharpened during his time as a head coach?

"I don't know," he said, pausing and then smiling. "Maybe I am competitive out here."

Harbaugh helped Day on five holes, by making par/net birdie (Harbaugh carries a 12-handicap). Day made bogey on two of those holes, so Harbaugh helped the team by seven strokes.

Vic Fangio, the 49ers' defensive coordinator, served as Harbaugh's caddie for the first 12 holes of Thursday's round on Monterey Peninsula Country Club's Shore Course. Then Fangio gave way to his girlfriend, Kathy Morioka, a good golfer and apparently a reliable reader of putts.

As they walked to the No. 15 tee, Morioka asked Harbaugh which club he wanted.

"We hit driver on every hole," Harbaugh said. "Hit it and hope."

Harbaugh and Day played alongside tour pro Matt Bettencourt and Giants pitcher Matt Cain. It took the group more than 5 1/2 hours to navigate the course, and Harbaugh acknowledged his mind occasionally wandered to football during idle moments.

His reflections on the Super Bowl were mostly positive.

"As a coach, I look at the effort of our players - and it was plus-plus-plus," Harbaugh said. "You're down 22 points and it could go the other way. Most of the time, it does. The way our players fought and competed and nearly came all the way back ...

"There's regret we lost. It certainly hurts, but you can live with regret. You can't live with becoming dispirited and not competing - and that's never been the case with our team."